(Washington) — Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed by voice vote the Asian Carp Prevention and Control Act, S. 1421, which prohibits Asian Carp species from being shipped or imported into the United States. After today’s passage, the bill will proceed to President Obama’s desk where it will be signed into law. Applauding its passage, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) issued the following statement.
S. 1421 prohibits importation and interstate shipment of certain species of carp. Specifically, it amends section 42 of title 18, United States Code, to add the bighead variety of the species commonly known as Asian Carp to the list of injurious species that are prohibited from being shipped in or imported into the United States.
Asian Carp are a significant threat to the Great Lakes because they are large, extremely prolific, and consume vast amounts of food. They can grow to more than six feet long and weigh in excess of 100 pounds, quickly dominating the waters they inhabit. They eat as much as 40 percent of their body weight every day.
Researchers caution that these fish could pose a significant risk to the Great Lakes ecosystem by damaging habitats and disrupting the food chain that supports native fish.
In the 1970s, two species of Asian carp, the bighead and silver, were imported by catfish farmers to remove algae and suspended matter from their ponds. During large floods in the early 1990s, many of the catfish farm ponds overflowed their banks, and the Asian carp were released into local waterways in the Mississippi River basin.
In an effort to prevent the carp from getting to the Great Lakes, a barrier was constructed in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, which connects the Mississippi River to the Great Lakes.
Unfortunately, the Asian carp are steadily making their way northward up the Mississippi, and Asian carp DNA has been discovered beyond the barrier.
If Asian carp reach Lake Michigan, they are likely to spread throughout the Great Lakes, where they would threaten the environment and the economy. They would threaten commercial and recreational fishing on the lakes, both of which are major contributors to the economies of the Great Lake States.
The Asian Carp Prevention and Control Act lists the big head variety of the species – commonly known as Asian Carp – as injurious wildlife under the Lacey Act. By including Asian Carp in the Lacey Act, this bill will prohibit importation or interstate transportation of live Asian carp without a permit.
